Tag: Love

I don’t usually do two posts in one day anymore, but something is really bugging me here on WordPress and I need help.  It seems many of my comments to your blog posts are going to your spam folder.  That happens to me with your comments sometimes too.  Most of the time I check my spam folder it is filled with spam, but sometimes there are comments in there from people I communicate with daily.  It is strange and I don’t know why it happens.  One day the comments are fine, and then out of nowhere they end up in spam.  When that happens, the comments don’t show up in the notifications either, so you don’t even know there is a comment unless you check the spam folder.  Anyway, I have a request.  If you could please take a moment to help me out and check your spam folder, I would really appreciate it.

Most of my comments are getting through and I have chatted with many of you today.  However, several of you are not seeing my comments to your posts.  I have been reading your blogs and posting comments all day.  A couple of you let me know that my comments had ended up in your spam folder, and I appreciate you letting me know.

Also, I have sent emails to a few of you through your contact page.  When you have the standard WordPress contact form on your contact page, sometimes the emails people send you through your blog don’t get sent to your email like they should.  Instead they go to the “Feedback” page.  That is like the spam for your contact page.

If you are new to WordPress, or you don’t know how to check your Comments spam folder or the Feedback page, I can help.  Here are some pictures of the back office for my blog.  I pay for my site and my domain name, so my back office might look different if you have a free site.  I hope these pictures are helpful!

Here is my blog’s back office.  The two choices in the upper left are “My Site” or “Reader.”  To get to the Comments spam folder and the Feedback page, click “My Site.”

The comments and feedback links are under “Site,” so click that next:

Click Comments to check your blog’s spam folder or click Feedback to check for messages that came through your contact page.

And here is what the Comments folder looks like:

Right now you are looking at my Approved list of comments.  To check the spam on your blog just click Spam.  You can approve or delete comments in the spam folder.  There is even a bulk edit feature, which is nice.

I hope that helps!  Thank you for taking the time to help me out!  I care about the conversations I have with all of you.  I check my spam folder throughout the day to make sure I’m not missing your comments.

Before I go, none of my posts would be complete without some Scripture, so remember:

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9

If you missed my post from this morning, here is that link:

A Further Explanation of Repentance

Grace and peace to you all!

 

 

I have seen a disturbing trend on Christian sites here on WordPress of believers not understanding the word repentance.  Some actually claim that telling people to repent is adding works to salvation and some say we can accept Christ, but we don’t have to turn from sin.  That is not what God’s Word says!  Let me be clear here, repentance is not a work for salvation and we definitely need to turn from sin!  Telling someone to repent is not adding a requirement to salvation!  If you have followed my blog for awhile, then you know I preach that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, just like Jesus and Paul preached.  However, Jesus saved us so that we would live righteous lives that please God!  I don’t want anyone to misunderstand me when I talk about repentance and people need to understand the difference between salvation and sanctification.

We are saved by faith in Jesus alone and not by works. That is clear in Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 10:9-13 and that is what I have preached for the last 22 years I have followed Jesus.  We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus and there are no good works we could ever do that would ever save us.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:9-13

The New Testament was originally written in the Greek language.  Repentance is the word “metánoia” in the Greek, which means “a change of mind.”  It also means “a change in the inner man.”  Jesus Himself preached that people needed to repent for the kingdom of Heaven is near (Matthew 4:17).  Yes, we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, but He saved us that we would die to sin and live for righteousness, not to continue living a sinful life.

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Matthew 4:17

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

1 Peter 2:24

Here is the Strong’s Concordance definition of the Greek word metanoia:

Strong’s Concordance

metanoia: change of mind, repentance

Original Word: μετάνοια, ας, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: metanoia
Phonetic Spelling: (met-an’-oy-ah)
Definition: change of mind, repentance
Usage: repentance, a change of mind, change in the inner man.

To repent most definitely means to have a change in the inner man.  We must turn from sin and live a new life for Christ!  Once you confess faith in Jesus, you receive the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22), who empowers us to live righteously.  We most definitely need to turn from sin.  We are saved by God’s grace and His salvation is a gift to us through faith in Jesus, but God will not allow us to actively and willfully live a sinful life after we are saved.  We will go through a life long process of sanctification (that is being made holy) after being saved where the Lord works in us by the power of the Holy Spirit to be more like Jesus every day.  We may fall at times, but we must turn from sin and live for Christ to be in a right relationship with the Lord.  A person can be saved, but if they are being rebellious and willfully living a sinful life, that person will not be in a right relationship with the Lord and the Lord will have to discipline them.

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:13-14

“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.  He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

If a person continues to live in sin after they are saved, yes they are saved, but they will be under God’s discipline until they turn from it.  Hebrews 12 is very clear about how God disciplines His children.

“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.  And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:

“My son, do not make light of the

Lord’s discipline,

and do not lose heart when he

rebukes you,

because the Lord disciplines those he

loves,

and he punishes everyone he accepts

as a son.”

Hebrews 12:4-6

Consider what the Apostle Paul said in Romans:

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

Romans 6:1-4

The Apostle Peter also admonishes us to not use God’s grace as a cover up for sin.

“Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.”

1 Peter 2:16

The other day, I read a blog where the person said that to repent means to change your mind about sin, but not turn from it completely.  That is not accurate at all!  Jesus said to repent for the kingdom of Heaven is near!  To repent most definitely means to turn away from sin and turn towards God and go His way.  Yes, it means to change your mind and that means a person must change their mind about living a sinful life and not live a sinful life anymore, hence turning from sin completely!  For example, someone living a homosexual lifestyle who receives Jesus by faith will have to turn away from that homosexual lifestyle.  God will not allow them to continue living that way after they are saved.  If the person does, then he/she will be disciplined by the Lord until they repent and turn back to God.

Salvation and sanctification are two different things.  We are saved by grace through faith, then the Lord sanctifies us (makes us holy) by the power of the Holy Spirit He gave us.  A person can be saved and they may fall into sin, but the Lord will discipline them and bring them back.  He will go after that one sheep who wanders off and He will never leave us nor forsake us.  We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus and we cannot lose our salvation once we truly believe in Him, but we must die to sin and live for righteousness once we are saved.

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.  They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.  Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Ephesians 4:17-24

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

2 Corinthians 5:17

The way some believers explain repentance makes it sound like it’s okay to keep living a sinful life after you are saved, and that is not true.  Some of them even say telling people to repent is false preaching!  What?!!!  It is not false preaching to tell someone they must turn from sin!  If a person will not turn from sin, then how can they turn to Jesus to be saved in the first place?  When Jesus told people to repent for the kingdom of Heaven is near, He was telling them to turn from sin and believe in Him.  Telling someone to repent is not adding a requirement for salvation!  We are clearly saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus and not by works.  Telling people to repent is simply following the example Jesus set in telling people to turn from sin and believe in Him.  Repentance alone, that is changing your mind about sin and having a change in your inner person to turn away from sin, does not save you.  Jesus Christ saves us and it is repentance that leads us to salvation by faith in Jesus.

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”

2 Corinthians 7:10

Telling someone to repent (turn from sin) and accept Jesus by faith is the most loving thing you could do for them!  If a person comes to you and tells you that you can believe in Jesus and just keep living a sinful life, that person is a liar and they are not sharing the true Gospel!  Once you believe in Jesus, you are filled with the Holy Spirit and God makes you a new creation in Christ!  The old person you were in your life of sin is dead and gone and you now live a new life in the righteousness and holiness that has been given to you by God’s grace!  You will not be able to keep living a sinful life after you accept Jesus.  The conviction of the Holy Spirit inside of you will lead you forward in righteousness and you must turn away from a life of sin!

“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, orgies, and the like.  I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Galatians 5:16-25

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.  But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.”

Ephesians 2:1-5

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

Please don’t ever misunderstand my preaching or take me wrong.  Yes, we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus and that salvation was purchased in full through Christ’s blood and we cannot lose it, but we must turn from sin and live for righteousness!  Sin leads to death and Jesus did not die for us to continue living in sin!  He died for us, so we could be reconciled with God and made holy and righteous before Him!  Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you don’t need to turn from sin.  Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ includes telling people to repent for the kingdom of Heaven is near just like Jesus did!  Change your mind about living a sinful life that leads to death, turn away from sin, and turn to Jesus and live!  That is what repentance means!  True godly sorrow about your sins leads to repentance, which leads to salvation in Jesus!  Once you are saved, the power of the Holy Spirit inside of you will empower you and give you the desire to stay away from sin and not live that way anymore!

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is not hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.  Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.  You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.  But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.  Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Colossians 3:1-14

If you believe in Jesus, then you are a new creation in Christ and your life is now fully in Jesus!  Your old self died and you have crucified your sinful nature, so live by the Spirit and die to sin and live for righteousness!  Preach the true Gospel of Jesus that includes repentance of sin, and exhort people to turn from sin and turn to Jesus!  The world wants to water down the Gospel and exclude telling people they are sinful.  The world doesn’t want to hear the truth that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but if they don’t understand that crucial truth, then they won’t understand they need a Savior.

“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:21-24

Every single one of us on this earth has sinned and we need to repent of our sin (change our inner man and turn from sin) in order to turn to Jesus and be saved by faith in Him!  May the Lord’s will be done in all things and may He give us an undivided heart to fear His Name and love Him first.  May He create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us.  May He hide His Word in our hearts, so that we will not sin against Him.  May He give us a great hunger and thirst for righteousness and may we fully embrace the new life He has given us through faith in Jesus!  Jesus is our salvation, holiness, and righteousness and we live to please Him, not our sinful nature!

Grace and peace to you all!

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there!  Being a Dad is a great honor and gift from the Lord!  God bless you all in your journey of fatherhood!

The above photo is what I woke up to this morning.  My wife made her special gluten free cinnamon doughnuts for me.  They are delicious and the cinnamon is great for regulating blood sugar.  They are also made without soy, dairy, or eggs.  Thank you honey for becoming an amazing gluten free chef!  My daughter made me the card in the middle and my son made me the bag with the mountain scene drawing on it.  Awesome job kids, I love it!  They also packed the bag with a bunch of doughnuts wrapped in a cloth.  I feel very loved and my heart is full!

I love my kids with all of my heart, but as much as I love them, I am an imperfect father.  The greatest gift I could ever give to my kids is to help them develop a strong relationship with their Heavenly Father.  God loves us perfectly and He loved us so much that He died for us, so we could be with Him in Heaven forever!  God’s love for my kids is perfect and He knows them and what they need completely.  We can trust in God’s love for us and His love is never failing!  When you believe in Jesus, you are adopted by God and you become one of His children!  You become a son or daughter of the Lord and you become an heir to Heaven!  That is the incredible love God the Father has for us!

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.  And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:15

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Galatians 3:26-29

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”  So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.”

Galatians 4:6-7

No matter who you are, you have a Father in Heaven who loves you and wants to be with you forever!  God is a perfect Father and His love can heal your heart and soul!  Our earthly fathers are not perfect and I know many people had bad fathers or grew up without a father.  I want to encourage you that God is not that way!  God will never leave you nor forsake you!  Once you belong to Jesus, you are God’s child forever!  His love for you never ends and nothing can snatch you out of His hand!

“…God has said,

“Never will I leave you;

never will I forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”

Jesus speaking in John 10:28-30

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus speaking in John 3:16

If you don’t know Jesus, come to Him today and become a child of God!  Receive forgiveness of all of your sins and the salvation of your soul!  Your Father in Heaven who created you and loves you more than you can imagine wants to give you eternal life!  Accept God’s great love for you and receive the inheritance of Heaven!

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9

“for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:13

Our Heavenly Father is the perfect representation of how a father should love.  I want to love my kids like God loves me.  He is kind, compassionate, patient, and forgiving.  God’s love sets the bar for what defines a good father.  It is through His love alone that I can be the loving father He has made me by the power of the Holy Spirit!  I want my kids to be totally covered in God’s love every day!  It is His love that has set them free; it is His love that has set us all free!

To all the Dads out there, love your kids like God loves!  Have a blessed Father’s Day!

Grace and peace to you all!

“He who fears the Lord has a secure

fortress,

and for his children it will be a

refuge.”

Psalm 14:26

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

Ephesians 6:4

“Train a child in the way he should

go,

and when he is old he will not turn

from it.”

Proverbs 22:6

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Ephesians 5:1-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know God gives His people wings to soar?  It’s true!  By the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord empowers us to rise above any trouble this world throws at us!  Don’t ever forget that great encouragement!  When you believe in Jesus you are one of God’s children and nothing in our lives is impossible for God to overcome!  Wait on the Lord and He will lift you up!  Your way is not hidden from the Lord.  He loves you and you can trust in His love!

“Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can

fathom.

He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:28-31

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, whatever you are going through today, remember to wait on the Lord and hope in the Lord and He will renew your strength!  He is the Creator of the ends of the earth and we cannot fathom His understanding!  It is far too great!  We must trust His plan and will for our lives.  The prayer that has given me the greatest peace amidst trials and suffering is simply, “may Your will be done Lord.”  The Lord is everlasting and He does not get tired or weary.  He sees you and He loves you!  He will give you strength, He will increase your power, and you will soar on wings like eagles as you follow Him to victory!  May Your will be done Lord Jesus, Amen!

Grace and peace to you all!

Hello everyone and God bless you all!  I am really soaking up the sun and enjoying summer with the fam!  It’s going to be 81 degrees today!  I’m sitting on the porch right now typing this on my laptop and the kids are riding their bikes.  I wanted to tell you about a conversation I had yesterday with the stylist who cuts my hair.  It’s cool when God opens up doors to speak about my faith in Him!

I have been going to this stylist for years and she is great.  My wife and kids go to her to.  Her Mom has Celiac too, so we have always had a lot to talk about.  She knows we believe in Jesus and we have talked to her about our church too.  She also knows how terribly I suffered as she witnessed it firsthand with the drastic weight loss I had.  We have had many conversations and she has always been caring and understanding about Celiac.  She is not a believer (yet), but she has always been respectful of our faith too.

As we started talking while she began to cut my hair, she asked me about the food I have to eat.  We talked a little bit about it and then she asked, “Don’t you get sick of it?  How do you stand it?!”  I let her know that I definitely get sick of eating the same thing all the time and that sometimes I feel like a prisoner in my own body, but then I said, “I rely on my faith in God.”  I told her I cry out to Him and I give Him my frustration about it too.  She was just quiet and nodded respectfully.  After that, we just kept on talking like we always do.

That was it.  No big sermon or 2,000 word Bible study like here on my blog.  Just a simple acknowledgement that my strength comes from God alone and that is how I am able to endure this disease.  I hope and pray that the joy and encouragement the Lord gives me to keep a good attitude is a witness in itself because it is only through the Lord that I have any joy or encouragement at all.  I pray our stylist comes to know Jesus and I pray that all the conversations we have had will somehow help her make that decision.  It is the most important decision a person can make regarding their eternal soul!

The Apostle Peter encourages us to always be prepared to talk about our faith in Jesus.  At any moment someone may ask us to bear witness, so be prayed up and ready wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect.”

1 Peter 3:15

I only have hope today in spite of Celiac disease because of Jesus!  His Holy Spirit inside of me is what gives me the hope, joy, and encouragement to press on!  Jesus is the reason for the hope that I have, period!  If I did not have Jesus, I would have died from this disease at age 33 on April 28th, 2012!  He gave me my breath back and let me live and I am forever grateful!

May the Lord use us and the gifts He gave us as He sees fit and may His will be done in all things!  Jesus is Lord and He is coming back soon!  May He give us the strength to stand up for Him at all times!

Grace and peace to you all!

 

 

 

There is a prayer that the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians that I pray a lot.  It is a quick prayer for love, but it is powerful and the Lord has blessed our family in it.  If you believe in Jesus, I recommend adding this prayer to your prayer life!

Here is that prayer:

“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”

1 Thessalonians 3:12

I pray the Lord makes the love He put in our hearts increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else!  This world desperately needs God’s love!  Love comes from God because God is love and we need His love overflowing in our lives.  It is only because of God that we are able to love at all!  Without God, we don’t even know what love is and we don’t know how to love.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.  In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.  There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

We love because he first loved us.”

1 John 4:7-19

It is important to know what kind of love God has living inside of those who believe in Jesus.  It is also important to understand that because God is love, God’s character is made up of everything that defines His love.  The following verses in 1 Corinthians (known as the love verses) are the ultimate definition of God’s love and God’s character.

“Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.  But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

That is true love that every human being on earth needs and that is how God loves us!  That is also how He wants us to love one another!  There is no fear in His perfect love!  He is patient and kind and He wipes away our sins through faith in Jesus and keeps no record of wrongs!  We can trust in His love, rely on His love, and we are made complete in His love!  Let Jesus shower you with His love today and may His love always increase and overflow in our hearts forever!

Grace and peace to you all!

“This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.”

1 John 3:11

Hello everyone and God bless you all!  After the longest winter ever, I have been enjoying time with my family and we are spending a lot of time outside.  Today we went to our town’s summer fair.  The kids loved the rides and my wife and kids were even able to eat at a food truck serving gluten free chicken street tacos.  A few days ago we were at our neighborhood pool and we ran into an old friend.  He ended up telling us that his wife passed away in October of 2018 due to Frontotemporal (Frontal Lobe) Dementia (FTD).  She was only 39.  Our friend is 44 and he is a single Dad now with three kids.  I let him know we would be praying for him and asked if he had good support from a church.  He goes to church and he has a lot of family support here in town, which is a blessing.  He also lives in our neighborhood now, so we will most likely see him at the pool again.  I hope to be a blessing to him as God sees fit.  Christian prayer warriors, please pray for him and for his kids.

Grace and peace to you all!

 

We are on summer break now for the next eight weeks–praise God!  I am finally feeling better and I thank God for seeing me through yet another trial victoriously.  I will still be blogging this summer, but I will be spending a lot of time with my wife and kids too.  We are really looking forward to hot sunny days!  I might not be posting every day and some of my posts might be shorter, but I will be here like usual and will still be reading blogs and be active with comments.  The Lord has been putting that verse in Colossians on my heart lately.  There are a lot of things that want to rule our hearts that do us great harm.  Fear, pride, anxiety, despair, doubt, rage, anger, worry, and the terrible list goes on.  We have all struggled with something bad ruling our hearts at some point in our lives.  I have good news!  Jesus can heal all of it!  Believers in Jesus have His peace inside their souls and He comforts our hearts!  May we let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts today and forever!

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.”

Ephesians 2:14

Jesus Himself is our peace!  Jesus is Lord!  He is the King of kings and Lord of lords!  May He rule in our hearts!  We have overcome the world through Jesus and the evils of this world no longer rule over us!  That is something to be truly thankful for!  Thank You Jesus!

“This is love for God: to obey his commands.  And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world?  Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

1 John 5:3-5

I played this song for my kids this morning.  It is an old school Kirk Franklin song called “Gonna Be A Lovely Day” that I listened to a lot in college (back in the late 90s).  Have a lovely day in the love and peace of Jesus!  Jesus truly is the lover of our souls and the fire that burns deep within!  May your peace rule in our hearts Lord and may we be thankful!

Grace and peace to you all!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus in John 3:16

There are a set of verses in the Bible known as the Romans Road.  The Book of Romans was written by the Apostle Paul in the power of the Holy Spirit.  The salvation verses in Romans clearly explain why we need to be saved, what God did to save us, and how to be saved.  Saved from what?  From dying in our sins separated from God for all eternity, that’s what!  Saved from that place called hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth for all eternity.  Knowing the Truth of God’s Word will set you free and the salvation of your soul depends on what you choose to do with God’s Truth.  You will either accept it or reject it and there is no middle ground.

The first thing to understand is that we are all sinful and we need to be saved.  Sin in the Greek means missing the mark of perfection.  None of us are righteous in ourselves.  Just look at this crazy world!  There is a massive amount of evidence of sin and evil on this earth and we all desperately need our Creator.

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 3:23

Sin has a wage and that wage is death.  Every single one of us is dying from the moment we are born.  We cannot escape that reality.  Praise God that is not the end though!  God has made a way to be saved from sin and death and that is the best news the world could ever hear!

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 6:23

God’s gift to the whole world was coming down to earth as a man, Jesus Christ, to die for us in order to forgive our sins and reconcile us back to Him!  That is exciting news folks!

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

It is by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ that a person is saved and there is no other way.  We cannot work our way into Heaven by being “good” people because we are not good.  Our sins separate us from God until we are reconciled through faith in Jesus.  It is through Jesus Christ alone that we are saved.  How do we receive this great love and forgiveness from God?  There is only one way to receive it and that is by faith.

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:9-13

Do you want God to richly bless you?  Do you want to be forgiven of your sins?  Do you want to be saved?  Call on the Name of the Lord Jesus today!  Today is the day of salvation because we are not promised a tomorrow!

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

Romans 1:16

“For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Romans 1:17

God’s wrath is coming in the end and all the sin and wickedness of this world will be judged accordingly.  I recommend receiving Jesus Christ before that time, so that God’s wrath will not be poured out on you.

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

Romans 1:18-20

God loves us and that is why He died for us on a cross.  He does not want us to perish.  He longs for us to repent and turn to Him.  The Greek word for repentance is “metánoia,” which means to change your mind or a change in the inner man.  Change your mind and turn from going your own way in your sins and hostility towards God and choose to go God’s way.  He loves you and He does not want you to die in your sins!  When you believe in Jesus, you are set free from the bondage of sin and death, and you stand forgiven and reconciled with God!

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

Romans 8:1-2

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

2 Peter 3:9

“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:22-24

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

Romans 5:1-2

Once you have truly received Jesus as your Lord and Savior by faith, you are saved and your salvation is secure in Jesus forever!  If you would like to know more about that, please read my posts:

You CANNOT Lose Your Salvation! and Jesus Is Faithful & He Will Do It!

Once you receive Jesus by faith, you will receive the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to live righteously, convicts us of sin, and guides us in our lives and in God’s Word.  Consider these verses Paul wrote in Ephesians and 2 Corinthians:

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:13-14

“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.  He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, God literally fills you up with His Holy Spirit.  It is God’s seal on you as a believer in Jesus Christ!  Nobody can be righteous on their own.  We need the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us to live a life that pleases God.  Just take a look at all the amazing things the Holy Spirit does for us!

Finally, consider what the Lord Jesus Himself said regarding salvation and those who believe in Him:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

John 3:17-18

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”

John 10:27-30

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

John 5:24

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.  For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.  For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:37-40

Now that you have heard the Word of the Lord, what will you choose?  I truly pray you choose God’s amazing salvation and live in the peace and joy of His unending love!  No matter what you have done, Jesus will forgive you and by faith in Jesus alone you will be saved and go to Heaven!

Jesus is Lord!

Grace and peace to you all!

 

 

 

 

I have been up since 4 a.m. today.  Actually, I was up throughout the night sleeping on the couch and I only slept a few hours.  Midnight to 1 a.m. was not fun.  Good thing the Lord reminded me to have true grit the other day!  I am getting better, but I had some stomach issues last night on top of the coughing, so it’s been a long night.  It’s a beautiful day today though and it is supposed to be in the high 70s leading into the 80s this weekend!  Hello summer!  I wanted to thank you all for your prayers and encouragement.  Not just over the last few weeks, but since I started blogging on 8-10-18.

It has been really cool getting to know all of you and I truly appreciate the fellowship and the friendships!  It has been very healing writing here on WordPress.  Before I wrote my book (One Man’s Very Strange Supernatural Life) and started blogging I was struggling and I was stuck in despair over having Celiac.  You can read about that in my post titled “Wrestling God.”  It is amazing what the Lord has done since then and all the glory goes to Him!

I love reading your blogs and I have learned so much from all of you.  It has enriched my relationship with Jesus and encouraged me to press on.  It is awesome that we have access to such wisdom and experience in the Holy Spirit as we fellowship together!  Thank you Jesus!

I love watching the sunrise.  It is a beautiful blessing when I am up early due to suffering.  The Rocky Mountain air is crisp and cool this morning and the sunny blue sky is perfectly clear.  Pike’s still has a lot of snow on it.  There has been so much snow that a bunch of the major ski resorts are staying open through the beginning of June.  It has been a winter full of white gold for the high country.  That’s what we call the fresh powder at the resorts and they had more than enough this year.  If skiing and snowboarding is your thing, Colorado is the place to be!

God bless you all and thank you for sticking with me through the ups and downs I have had while blogging!  God is good, He will always be good, and His grace is always sufficient!  May we keep our hands to the plow and not look back as we serve the Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit!

“I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.  I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.  Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.”

Philemon 1:4-7

Thank you all for the love and encouragement you have shown me!

Thank you Jesus for everything you have done for us!  You always give us the strength and joy to carry on!  You deserve all the glory and praise!  Bless Your Holy Name Lord!

Grace and peace to you all!